Apple Unveils the iPad

by bradigerJanuary 27, 2010 at 2:06PM
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Views: 634

The iPad is part Macbook, part iPhone, and according to Steve Jobs, it's the "best web experience you've ever had." Details after the jump.

Today, Apple announced its "latest creation" at a special event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco, California. That creation is a tablet PC that intends to merge the gap between smart phones and laptops.

The iPad is powered by a custom 1GHz Apple A4 chip and comes in three different flavors: $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB, and $699 for 64GB. Adding 3G costs $130 per model, so a full-featured, 64GB, 3G-enabled iPad is going to set you back $829.

3G connectivity will be handled by AT&T. Contract-less data plans range from $14.99 for 250GB a month to an unlimited plan for $29.99 a month.

Jobs describes the iPad as "a dream to type on" and until we get our hands on one, we'll just have to take his word for it, though they will be offering a dock-able external keyboard, so we're not really sure if that speaks good or bad about the virtual keyboard typing experience.

Either way, it is slightly disconcerting when anyone describes their product as "magical":

Apple also announced the iBooks online bookstore for downloading e-books to the device. Also mentioned in the announcement was full compatibility with all iTunes content, including iPhone apps downloaded from the App Store.

The software has been described as "very iPhone-like" although that interface has been "significantly expanded and altered." So, intrepid techies, is the iPad the future of mobile computing, or just another Newton? The iPad hits stores in 60 days.